Total War Pharaoh: A Beginner’s Guide to Conquer Ancient Egypt

Abu Taher Tamim
By Abu Taher Tamim
11 Min Read

Do you want to be the best pharaoh in Ancient Egypt? You can do that with this beginner’s guide to Total War Pharaoh and rule Ancient Egypt.

Transport yourself back 3,000 years and experience the intrigue and warfare of Ancient Egypt in Total War: Pharaoh. This brand-new entry in Creative Assembly’s acclaimed Total War strategy series lets you rule the iconic civilizations of history’s Bronze Age. You can choose to lead the great Egyptians, the renowned Hittites, or the enigmatic Canaanites as you build your empire in a time of crisis and possible collapse.

You can rewrite history with Total War: Pharaoh’s:

  • Gorgeous graphics,
  • Epic real-time battles, and
  • Complex systems.

However, if you want to master the game, then you will need knowledge and skill. This guide will provide that necessary knowledge and skill. I’ll teach you how to master Total War: Pharaoh’s systems. You’ll learn how to manage resources, train unstoppable armies, navigate royal court politics, and cleverly expand your territory. You’ll avoid rookie mistakes and take control of the ancient world with these expert techniques.

Beginner’s Guide to Total War Pharaoh

Choosing a Faction
Credit: Total War Pharaoh

Choosing a Faction

The first step in your Total War: Pharaoh journey is selecting which iconic Bronze Age civilization you’ll lead to glory. You can leverage the unique advantages of each faction.

For agriculture and trade, the Egyptians control the Nile delta, which is lush with farmland. The Hittites wield iron weapons and armor unavailable to rivals. And the Canaanites benefit from well-placed coastal cities to connect with the wider world.

Weigh each faction’s unique traits, special units, legendary leaders, and starting position on the map. Pick the one best aligned with your preferred play style and path to victory. Your entire experience will be shaped by this choice.

The Campaign Map

Once you begin, you’re presented with the vast campaign map encompassing the ancient world. You can manage your cities, build armies, and issue orders from this overview.

You can use it to construct buildings, research technology, negotiate with leaders, and plan military operations and maneuvers. Furthermore, you have to click on settlements to access local decisions. Right-click to move armies and agents. It’s your master command center – learn it inside out.

Building and Managing Cities
Credit: Total War Pharaoh

Building and Managing Cities

Your settlements are the foundation of the empire. You have to make farms, quarries, and other buildings to produce resources. Keep the citizens happy by managing tax rates and provincial decrees.

Prioritize growth in your starting settlement. Upgrade resource buildings where they align with local terrain. Maximize food production to support larger armies. And don’t neglect defenses – walls and garrisons safeguard against invasions.

Recruiting and Training Armies

While cities fuel your nation, armies enforce your will. Recruit diverse units with a mix of skills to handle any threat. Train them through combat experience and embed them with a general to lead them.

Maintain a garrison force to protect borders, but beware upkeep costs. Focus on quality over quantity – a few elite regiments can defeat far larger hordes. When you’re fighting, use terrain and tactics to your advantage. Disciplined soldiers win wars.

Researching New Technologies

Knowledge brings power. You can boost your military might and economic output with breakthroughs from your scholars.

You should prioritize researching strategic advances that help you get where you want to go. Rush military tech if waging war, or efficient resource gathering and production to boom your economy. But don’t neglect long-term progress, either. You’ll get great results if you combine smart research with intelligent planning.

Maintaining a Strong Economy
Credit: Total War Pharaoh

Maintaining a Strong Economy

Gold, stone, bronze, and food – these resources fuel expansion. You should survey your provinces and construct lucrative buildings that tap into local geography. For example, mine gold where it’s abundant. Prioritize farms along the Nile.

You need to manage production chains, so they’re as efficient as possible. Link livestock raising to tanneries, or clay pits to brickworks. Barter or trade surplus resources with allies for what you lack. As your income grows, you can train troops, build cities, and conquer the world.

Keeping Your Population Happy

A content populace makes for a prosperous realm. You need to monitor public order and quell brewing rebellions before they erupt. You should construct some happiness buildings to placate citizens. Furthermore, you must remember to target food production to prevent starvation. And limit tax rates – impoverished people eventually take up arms.

Appoint governors with popular traits to boost morale in provinces. Decrees and commandments can spread satisfaction or impose order. Happy citizens work hard and stay loyal – so promote welfare wherever you rule.

Expanding Your Territory
Credit: Total War Pharaoh

Expanding Your Territory

Opportunity lies beyond your borders. Seize lands with resources your core provinces lack. Absorb smaller factions early before they grow strong. But avoid unchecked expansion – conquered lands take time to stabilize.

You should fortify vulnerable frontiers where rivals probe for weakness. Place armies to counter threats, flanked by fort outposts for support. You need to build up infrastructure and loyalty before pressing further. With patience, persistence, and discipline, you can blanket the entire map in your faction’s colors.

Defending Yourself from Enemies

Even as you expand, expect foes to challenge your legitimacy. It is important to train specialized forces to counter the tactics of your rivals. You can also use agents to sow chaos and weaken hostile nations. Furthermore, you should build stone walls to protect vulnerable cities.

When enemies surround you, play defensively and let them exhaust themselves against your defenses. You can goad them into ambushes by feigning weakness. Then counterattack, seizing the momentum to retaliate with a devastating offensive. Ruthless cunning and unbreakable will turn certain defeat into triumph.

Building and Commanding Armies

Warfare wins thrones. You need to construct recruitment buildings to train diverse units with complementary skills. Infantry form resilient fronts, archers, and slingers volley from afar, chariots flank and shatter formations.

You should appoint experienced generals to lead your forces. Embed them with troops to improve morale and skills through the crucible of combat. Moreover, you have to manage upkeep costs, but avoid overextension – quality over quantity triumphs on the battlefield.

Fighting Battles

When armies clash, skillful command elevates you above the chaos. You should study terrain and weather for advantages. You need to seize high ground to rain arrows upon exposed enemies below. Hide units in forests to surprise overconfident foes.

Moreover, you should flank when possible to hit them from their vulnerable rear. Beware bottlenecks which inhibit maneuvering. Morale and leadership decide contests between close rivals – shatter your enemy’s will to withstand you.

Besieging Cities

Enemy strongholds block expansion until they crumble before you. You should starve defenders via blockade rather than direct assault. Maintain encirclement to prevent sallies from securing supplies.

You can batter vulnerable walls with siege weapons. Concentrate fire to create breaches for infantry to exploit. You must send flaming arrows to ignite buildings and spread chaos. When resistance frays, unleash your army to storm the battered city and claim your prize.

Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Venturing down the Nile for the first time? You can strengthen your foundation by following these tips.

  • Prioritize food and growth in your starting city.
  • Rush military technologies if surrounded by enemies. Defense comes before development.
  • Build walls in vulnerable border settlements sooner rather than later.
  • Don’t forget to pay attention to the weather and seasons. There’s a connection between them and crop yields, army movement, and battles.

With these basics in mind, you’re on the path to prosperity even in your kingdom’s earliest days.

Advanced Tips for Your Empire

Once you establish stability, use these strategies to surge ahead:

  • Appoint governors with traits that boost production in key provinces.
  • Construct monitoring buildings to see province troubles before they erupt.
  • Rush Construction tech to rapidly build up cities after conquest.
  • Analyze geography and focus provinces on resources they generate best. Don’t force diversity.

Mastering the intricacies of realm management takes wisdom – but elevates you above rival monarchs.

Mastering Warfare

Apply these tactics to become a scourge on the battlefield:

  • Make use of ambush and forced march stances to surprise enemies.
  • Assault surrounded minor settlements rather than besieging indefinitely.
  • Draw foes into harsh terrain like deserts and mountains to even the odds.
  • Flank distracted enemies after you pin their front line. Shock and awe shatters resolve.

With cunning strategy and swift maneuvers, few foes withstand you for long.

From ragged nomads to masters of civilization – this beginner’s guide to Total War Pharaoh illuminated your path to victory.

By Abu Taher Tamim Staff Writer
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Abu Taher Tamim is a Staff Writer at GameRiv. He started playing video games when one of his uncles brought him a PS1, after it was launched. Since that day until now, he still play video games. As he loves video games so much, he became a gaming content writer.